Retail brands took a heavy hit in 2020. The pandemic year created new challenges for retailers reliant on physical locations. We share top ecommerce marketing tips to help grow your brand online.
According to Kantar, 40% of people are more willing to shop online in 2021. This shift is forcing a rethink when targeting potential shoppers. What does this mean for brands operating web stores?
We take a closer look at the ways we are choosing to shop online in 2021. Below we outlined some ecommerce marketing tips you can put to work to engage your brand’s customers.
Bridge the physical and online experience gap.
In the battle of bricks vs clicks, physical retail has the experiential ace up its sleeve. Shoppers that prefer interacting with products when purchasing can do. Yet, fears about safety mean that shoppers are staying home and buying online instead.
With that in mind, experiencing products is still important to these customers. Brands can deliver this for shoppers online by producing detailed content. Content that goes beyond simple product shots. Incorporating close-up detail through video offers shoppers an opportunity to scrutinise potential purchases.
When investing in content to highlight products, you can add layers of storytelling. Furthermore, content can show how products fit into your customer’s lives. Moreover, personalising content shows these products in unique ways to each customer. Producing unique content increases the chances of basket conversions even more.
Go live and personalise experiences on the fly.
Besides detailed content, brands looking to go further should investigate live streaming opportunities. Live streaming provides the opportunity to interact with audiences, providing personalised product information. Furthermore, live streaming new products at launch builds valuable hype around your brand.
Live commerce is already a huge phenomenon in China. There, over 900 live-streaming sites sell RMB 916Bn in goods each year. This trend is being trialled by brands in Europe too. Here, brands use Facebook and YouTube’s live platforms to sell to customers tuned in. Moving to live strategies enables brands to create unique offers and experiences. In turn, adding an element of exclusivity as a reward to those customers that choose to engage.
Taking advantage of live in-app shopping experiences can help sell to younger customers. Up to 58% of centennials use social media and forums as their primary research method. Brands selling to this customer should create live experiences within ecommerce marketing strategies.
Collaborate to win social commerce.
At the end of 2020, Instagram launched its shopping reels feature. The new format, which goes toe-to-toe with TikTok, enables creators to tag products within short videos. This feature builds upon Instagram’s ecommerce integrations. According to research, 60% use Instagram to discover new products. So Instagram provides brands with a new engaging route to share content with their fans. As this feature is so new, innovative brands with engaged followings can be first-movers, capitalising on the chance to sell.
For youth markets engaged on TikTok, there are similar integrations coming online. Levi’s ran the first creator led partnership, promoting its new line of laser-customisable jeans. It reported achieving double the average view times and significant engagement from 16-24 year olds. Finally, the key here is creating moving content that highlights the product’s innovative features. Selling to customers who were unable to see it for themselves in store.
Content as the key ingredient in quality ecommerce marketing.
The key to success here is building a library of great content, and plenty of it. A content led strategy will match products to your target customer, in a way that speaks to them.
Unsure about where to begin? Get in touch with a member of the Even team and we will guide you through the necessary steps. From defining an audience aligned strategy, through to content delivery.
